Vehicle parts, such as B-pillars of a motor vehicle, with structural reinforcement parts are basically known from the state of the art. They serve to stiffen the vehicle part to enable it to better withstand the forces arising during a crash. For example, DE 10 2005 039 925 A1 discloses a B-pillar to be mounted on a vehicle body including an outward facing formed sheet metal part and an inward facing plastic material support element for receiving the functional parts of a safety seat belt system. The plastic material support element is injection molded onto the formed sheet metal part. This has the purpose of providing a stiff and strong B-pillar better able to transfer the forces acting on it and contributes to stiffening the vehicle body in the assembled state.
While the combination of a formed sheet metal part and the plastic material support element according to this prior art provides a stiffer B-pillar configuration for a vehicle compared to a pure formed sheet metal part, there is, however, the risk during a side impact or a lateral intrusion on the B-pillar of the plastic material support element breaking due to the forces acting on it and there is therefore an even greater danger of injury for the vehicle passengers than would be the case without the provision of such a plastic material support element.